Ex-doctor admits exchanging drugs for sex on Craigslist

Wilmette Police Dept.

Joshua Baron, 37, of the 800 block of South Taylor Street in Oak Park, was arrested in Wilmette recently after allegedly exchanging e-mails with an undercover police officer who responded to an ad on Craiglist. The Oak Park physician was arrested in Wilmette after allegedly posting a drugs-for-sex advertisement on Craigslist, authorities said.

Joshua Baron, 37, of the 800 block of South Taylor Street in Oak Park, was arrested in Wilmette recently after allegedly exchanging e-mails with an undercover police officer who responded to an ad on Craiglist. The Oak Park physician was arrested in Wilmette after allegedly posting a drugs-for-sex advertisement on Craigslist, authorities said. (Wilmette Police Dept.)

Juan Perez Jr.Tribune reporter

A former Oak Park doctor pleaded guilty to federal drug charges Friday, roughly three years after suburban authorities arrested him for attempting to trade prescription drugs for sex with an undercover police officer.

Joshua Baron, 40, a former pediatric neurologist who was once affiliated with three Chicago hospitals admitted today that he provided thousands of doses of controlled substances to 16 individuals between 2006 and 2011 in exchange for sex and money.

Baron’s work focused on epilepsy and had ongoing trials in examining sleep symptoms in children with epilepsy, as well as studies to evaluate novel pharmaceuticals, the hospital’s website said.

Baron will be sentenced on June 30, authorities said, and he faces a maximum 20-year prison sentence. Authorities said his plea agreement provides for a sentencing recommendation of nine to 11 years in prison.